afari in three other African

[Interfacing]
afari in three other African

Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Matt Burke plans to go diving in Bora Bora on summer vacation Youth Leighton Vander Esch Jersey , and when he returns he’ll really start trying to figure out who should play where this season.Burke and the rest of the defensive staff have been experimenting and evaluating during spring non-contact drills. But when asked Wednesday how much he can tell before players don pads, he responded with a slight smile.
”Nothing,” Burke said.
Minicamp does offer a chance to assess agility and how well players are absorbing the system, he said. But it will be August before Burke and the Dolphins have a true sense regarding what kind of defense they’ll be in 2018.
”Everything has an asterisk on it until we put pads on,” Burke said.
Miami hopes and need to be much better on defense than last season, Burke’s first as a coordinator under coach Adam Gase. The Dolphins ranked 29th in points allowed at 24.6 per game, and then parted with their best defensive player, five-time Pro Bowl tackle Ndamukong Suh.
On the plus side, they added veteran Robert Quinn at defensive end and first-round draft pick Minkah Fitzpatrick at safety. Raekwon McMillan, a 2017 second-round pick, returns to start at middle linebacker after missing his entire rookie season because of a knee injury. And depth appears improved at end, linebacker and safety.
”We don’t have any positions set in stone right now,” Burke said. ”We’re rolling a lot of guys at a lot of positions.”
Fitzpatrick Youth Michael Dickson Jersey , for example, is splitting his time among the free safety, strong safety and nickel back positions.
”He’s probably about as advertised,” Burke said. ”He’s really sharp. He’s thirsty for knowledge. We’re trying to overload him, and he keeps taking it. We are moving him around at some different spots and trying to get a feel for what his best fit is. He has responded well.”
At defensive end, the rotation will include Quinn, Cameron Wake, Andre Branch, William Hayes and 2017 first-round pick Charles Harris.
”Our plan would be to rotate different groups,” Burke said. ”We feel we’ll be better off having fresh guys, whether it’s for two, three or four snaps at a time, and then send the next group in. Building depth there was important to us. We want guys going full speed.”
The Dolphins have four more practices scheduled next week and then break until training camp http://www.raidersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-brandon-parker-jersey , allowing the 42-year-old Burke to embark on his latest exotic vacation in Bora Bora, a small island in the South Pacific. He has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, done charity work in Uganda, and taken a safari in three other African countries.
Burke joked in the past about Gase calling him during vacation with football questions, and had a quick response when asked if the boss will be able to reach him this time.
”Whether I have cellphone service or not,” Burke said, ”the answer is no.”
Decisions about who’s playing where will have to wait.
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The Raiders are parting ways with another cornerback.
They opened the offseason by releasing David Amerson and now there are multiple reports that they are also cutting Sean Smith loose.
Smith joined the Raiders as a free agent in 2016 and signed a four-year deal with the club. His tenure got off to a rough start when he was benched during his first game with the team. He remained a starter for the rest of 2016, but only started seven of the 14 games he played for Oakland last season.
Smith had 74 tackles and four interceptions in 29 overall games the last two seasons.
With Amerson and Smith gone and T.J. Carrie set for free agency, the Raiders will be doing some work to fill out their defensive backfield. They showed interest in Richard Sherman, but Sherman told Peter King of SI.com that General Manager Reggie McKenzie told him the team wouldn’t have the cap space necessary to beat the deal he got with the 49ers.
Releasing Smith, who is set to stand trial on assault charges stemming from an arrest last July, will give them $8.5 million more in cap space to use this offseason.UPDATE 12:03 p.m. ET: Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times reports that Smith will plead guilty to assault on Tuesday rather than go to trial. He is expected to be sentenced to to a year in jail and three years of probation.